Democracy and protests have become
synonymous concepts in our nation. In fact, to be negatively critical of the
system at hand seems like the only way to showcase one's credible socialist
leanings. And to criticize what's wrong with the government seems like the most
fashionable way of registering one's intellectual capacity.
Many 'protests' in various forms -
symbolic and out-on-the-streets raised voices. This note follows as a continuum
of the past note that investigated a subjective and lived experience. The
overwhelming texts, messages, calls and requests have phenomenally inspired
immense introspection within me and the issue at hand. It was a conscious
attempt on my part to distance my voice from the onslaught of this language of
alleged 'protest' and 'democratic dialogue'. I shall try to investigate what
are the problematics within the scenario and why it is so.
Let us agree as Nilanjana Roy says
in her recent article on Kafila that the protest voices at India gate, Jantar
Mantar, Raisina Hills, Rashtrapati Bhavan, and Janpath are more or less
directionless and vague. But my disagreement lies in the constant justification
of the echoes in the article and elsewhere as central and definitive of the
idea of democracy and free speech. How free should free speech be needs a check?
And yes, it requires a monitoring mechanism - either developed by state for conservationists
(limitations to Freedom of Expression in the Article 19 of the constitution) or
non-state values for communists or ethical, rational and logical loops for the
anti-ism lobby. We must remember that we reside in no Plato’s Republic guided
by purely poetic principles but we live in a real politic scenario where
putting a name to our nationality is central to our agreement of being a part
of this system. By default, we must abide by certain codes till the time they
change and are brought as transformed alter egos. We should and must
participate in the process of bringing about a change but that ought to be done
respecting the constitutional limitations to freedom. After all this is what
being civilized means – to be able to respect and appreciate constructively the
culture of the civilization at hand.
What binds the cacophony of the
protests is pure emotional outburst against a systemic malaise that the
psychology of rape, especially gang rape, has become. Kudos to the awareness
quotient but one needs a serious look at where the energy of the huge mass
intends to fritter away.
The demand for justice for the
victim of this heinous crime is being met rather too fast for the speed
barometer record of our judiciary and police department. Not only has the
investigation been quite impressive but the nabbing of the criminals also well
coordinated and fast. It is a mockery of our ill framed demand right on the
face of the placards we seem to hold. We must realize that we are not Saudi
Arabia and that the process of justice delivery shall happen within certain
protocols - the very same that we expect from the institutions we attack. Also,
the state is, at large, outraged at the act and committed to channelize its
service delivery mechanism into constructive conclusions soon enough. Let
us not get overwhelmed by the euphoric chest thumping, lung cracking cat calls
of the ‘silent’ and ‘non-violent’ protests. They are sensitive to the issue but
not necessarily ethical, humanitarian, logical and rational in their ‘demands’.
The ideas behind gang rape are
much beyond the limited confines of violence. Unlike isolated cases of rape
where subjective grudge and inflamed passion against the victim are often the
raison d’être, gang rapes are ideological and well planned within the fabric of
entrenched patriarchy. Off late, the demographics of gang rapists has emerged
as largely those who are visibly disturbed and at times stupefied by the
presence of assertive and confident women in the work spaces and public sphere
erstwhile occupied by their male hormones. This systemic problem/ trend, then,
is much beyond the speedy address of any government. It needs, instead, a
concerted and consistent social and sociological commitment with apt political
and legislative efforts to release the toxin gradually.
Logically
and rationally, the agitation stands nowhere to address any situation. Rather,
it aggravates the already festering instance of lawlessness out on the streets.
To stone pelt the police, to abuse the men in uniform and chest thumping
sloganeering is nothing but a lewd attempt to grab limelight when the brokers
and pimps of two minutes of fame are ready with their cameras and microphones
all over the elitist places of protest.
The demographics and the modus
operandi of the protesters are equally disturbing. Instead of bunking classes
to protest for something which is essentially their doing, they would do much
better by monitoring their own conduct around women – covertly and overtly. I
doubt the sincerity of the ‘movement’ because why is it that the defenders of
justice and women safety choose to march with a candle at 3pm from Laxmi Nagar
when it is out in the open that post 9 and 10 pm the place literally transforms
into a den for open sex racket. Why can not the ‘sincere’ protesters, the men
in the clan, undertake night vigils and patrols around places like Dwarka and
Mahipalpur than climbing on the poles near Rashtrapati Bhavan to get a love
bite from media camera flashes? Why resort to token gestures at select places
of power? Why are the margins of dingy lanes of Delhi abandoned? Why cannot
Chandni Chowk and Mahipalpur roads be waxed by the peaceful candles? Is it a
protest drive or a fashion parade on a seemingly romantic date inspired by Rang
de Basanti?
The symbols and language of
protests and marches has increasingly become a fad these days. Post Arab
Spring, Jasmine Revolution, agitations at the Tahrir Square, protests at Wall
Street the fashion of loud sloganeering has caught up as frenzied mania. But we
need to see if we want a directionless mob to annihilate and leave the shambles
for later rot or look for patient yet perseverant cures for malignant tumors as
deeply entrenched as rape.
